In the weeks since passage of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, a steady stream of good news from automakers has turned into a flood. Manufacturers in this sector are announcing intentions to build everything from mineral processing plants to battery production facilities putting our electric vehicle (EV) future in high gear. 

Among the latest announcements: GM agreed to sell 175,000 EVs to Hertz Global through 2027. This is in addition to the 100,000 electric vehicles that Hertz agreed to purchase from Tesla last year. GM will supply Hertz with EVs like the new Chevrolet Bolt and Bolt EUV starting next year, and with additional models as the company scales up production. As one of the largest rental car companies in the world, Hertz’s intention to electrify 25% of its fleet by the end of 2024 will give a lot more Americans the chance to get familiar with EVs. It’s a monumental step in the right direction.

This week, Senator Joe Manchin released the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022, a much-anticipated bill aimed at reforming the permitting process for energy infrastructure. Manchin’s bill proposes, among other things, to streamline and accelerate the environmental review process, give additional authorities to site major electricity transmission lines, and have the government identify 25 energy infrastructure projects of national importance, across both fossil fuels and clean energy, for expedited review. So far, the bill has drawn opposition and cheers from both sides of the aisle. 

But, let’s step away from Congress for a second–how are everyday Americans thinking about permitting reforms? When it comes to prioritizing energy projects, new polling from Data for Progress and We Act for Change found that a majority of likely voters (56%) prefer clean energy to fossil fuels. A larger share (65%) wants Congress to prioritize feedback from the communities that would be impacted most by the projects and less so from industry-associated groups like the American Petroleum Institute. 

To scale-up the innovative technologies we need to rapidly cut emissions, the Biden-Harris Administration is using a surge of new funding to push promising technologies out of the “valley of death”, the funding gap between research and commercial viability. When it comes to large-scale, complex innovations like advanced nuclear reactors, for example, the capital demands are often too big and the risk of failure too high for private companies to comfortably invest in these technologies. 

By appropriating nearly $25 billion for demonstration projects in the past year alone, the federal government is assuming that risk and helping clean energy innovations traverse the “valley of death.” Not only does this help get vital clean energy innovations off the ground but it also encourages the private sector to continue high-risk research and to adopt emerging technologies. 

This is a good start but we have a long way to go: the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Net Zero Emissions by 2050 scenario outlines nearly $90 billion in global investment needed for large-scale demonstration projects by the end of the decade. Because of the timelines from laboratory research to pilot programs, to demonstration, and to commercial adoption, more funding is needed to catalyze innovation and prepare clean energy technologies to diffuse across global markets earlier.

In a new blog, Dr. Nick Montoni from Third Way’s Climate and Energy program teams up with Prof. David Hart and Hannah Byles from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation to outline progress the United States has made on this front, along with nations in Europe, Asia, Latin America, and Africa.